GrayArea - Slashdot User

Submission + - Fungi Make Biodiesel at Room Temperature

Submitted by SoyChemist on Monday August 20, 2007 @02:28PM

SoyChemist writes: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have used pellets made from the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to produce biodiesel at room temperature. Usually, biodiesel is made by brewing vegetable oil with methanol and lye at high temperatures. That wastes a lot of energy, and thus partially defeats the point of making an alternative fuel. The researchers in Hyderabad mixed sunflower oil with methanol and trickled it through a glass column filled with fungus pellets. A lipase enzyme in the fungus converted the brew into biodiesel with a yield as high as 85 percent. Considering that the U.S. Department of Energy and BP are have pumped tons of money into synthetic biology for making alternative fuels, it is amazing to see what an apparently underfunded lab can do with natural organisms.

Submission + - The aerogel revolution is almost upon us (timesonline.co.uk)

Submitted by GnarlyDoug on Monday August 20, 2007 @01:07PM

GnarlyDoug writes: Aerogels, nicknamed liquid smoke, are basically nanofoam. Imagine a material with such a low density that it is transparent yet extremely tough, and such a good insulator that even asbestos cannot compare. It also has a massive surface area, making it perfect as a filter and purifier. Aerogels have been around since the 1930s but they have mainly been laboratory curiosities because they were so brittle and so expensive to make. It seems that has finally changed and that aerogels are about to become mainstream.

Submission + - Automotive X-Prize Reveals First 31 Teams

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:49PM

An anonymous reader writes: The Automotive XPRIZE announced yesterday the first 31 teams to have signed on for the competition to build 100 mpge (mile-per-gallon equivalent) automobiles. The list contains obvious contenders like electric bike vendor ZAP, electric truck peddler Phoenix Motorcars, Munich's überefficient Loremmo AG, and Elon Musk-backed Tesla Motors as well as Cornell University and a laundry list of other less well known names. There's even a team commited to an Open Source-like license. Notable is the total absence of any established manufacturer. Contrary to expectations of a Big Auto win, could the AXP be up for grabs?

Submission + - Monkeys and humans learn the same way (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by

Lucas123

on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:33PM

Lucas123 writes: "A new study from UCLA showed that monkeys, like humans, learn faster by being actively involved in the learning process rather than just having information placed before them, according to a story in ScienceDaily. In the study, two rhesus macaque monkeys learned to put up to 18 photos on an ATM-like touch screen in a row. 'The monkeys did much better on the first three days when they had the help than when they didn't, but on the test day, it completely reversed.'"

Submission + - Monkeys and humans learn the same way (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by

Lucas123

on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:33PM

Lucas123 writes: "A new study from UCLA showed that monkeys, like humans, learn faster by being actively involved in the learning process rather than just having information placed before them, according to a story in ScienceDaily. In the study, two rhesus macaque monkeys learned to put up to 18 photos on an ATM-like touch screen in a row. 'The monkeys did much better on the first three days when they had the help than when they didn't, but on the test day, it completely reversed.'"

Submission + - Should We Rebuild America with Minneapolis Bridge? (popularmechanics.com) 2

Submitted by mattnyc99 on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:32PM

mattnyc99 writes: The tragic collapse last night in Minneapolis of a truss bridge—one that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation found "structurally deficient" two years ago—raises an important issue beyond just the engineering of one single span. As national security expert Stephen Flynn pleads in an op-ed on American infrastructure in the wake of yesterday's disaster, "The blind eye that taxpayers and our elected officials have been turning to the imperative of maintaining and upgrading the critical foundations that underpin our lives is irrational and reckless." Do we need to start spending to rebuild America?

Submission + - Should We Rebuild America with Minneapolis Bridge? (popularmechanics.com) 2

Submitted by mattnyc99 on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:32PM

mattnyc99 writes: The tragic collapse last night in Minneapolis of a truss bridge—one that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation found "structurally deficient" two years ago—raises an important issue beyond just the engineering of one single span. As national security expert Stephen Flynn pleads in an op-ed on American infrastructure in the wake of yesterday's disaster, "The blind eye that taxpayers and our elected officials have been turning to the imperative of maintaining and upgrading the critical foundations that underpin our lives is irrational and reckless." Do we need to start spending to rebuild America?

Submission + - Apple is sued for soldering battery

Submitted by fermion on Monday July 30, 2007 @02:03PM

fermion writes: The reports are everywhere about the first class action lawsuit against the Apple iPhone. The suit claims that the battery is not user replaceable, that consumers were not told that the battery was soldered to the board, and that the battery will exhaust itself in 300 charges. I certainly understand that those people who bought phones in the first mad rush might have not noticed that they were buying a sealed unit, but after that Apple had plenty of iPhones out, and from what I saw there was plenty of time to play with it. The fact that all iPods are sealed units, and it costs a pretty penny to replace the battery, seems to have no effect on the suit. A second topic, that the AC adapters are bad, seem totally with merit as Apple seems to have difficulty making reliable AC adaptors. IMHO, this is a testament to the incredible sales number for the iPhone, as in only one month, there has been enough phones sold to get the attention of the lawyers.

Submission + - Futurama Movie Set for November 27th (tvsquad.com)

Submitted by

kevin_conaway

on Monday July 30, 2007 @11:18AM

kevin_conaway writes: "TV Squad informs us that the new Futurama movie will be available on November 27th. The show will return as a full-length high-def film sold on DVD. It will be followed by three additional films, and each film will be divided into four episodes each to be aired on Comedy Central. So, that's 4 DVD movies or 16 new episodes depending on how you look at it."

Submission + - Wikipedia corrects Enciclopaedia Britannica (wikipedia.org)

Submitted by

javipas

on Monday July 23, 2007 @08:27AM

javipas writes: "Despite all the controversy about Wikipedia's work model, no one can argue the potential of a project that has demonstrated the usefulness of the "wisdom of crowds" concept. And that wisdom has been able to detect several mistakes on one of the most relevant references on human knowledge: the Enciclopaedia Britannica. All kind of data has been spotted as wrong, such as the birthdate of Bill Clinton or the definition of NP problems in Mathematics."

Submission + - All Humans Evolved from a Single Origin in Africa (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by

Invisible Pink Unicorn

on Thursday July 19, 2007 @09:12AM

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes: "Researchers at the University of Cambridge have combined studies of global human genetic variations with skull measurements worldwide to conclusively show the validity of the single origin hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis contended that different populations independently evolved from Homo erectus to Home sapiens in different areas. The lead researcher explains, 'The origin of anatomically modern humans has been the focus of much heated debate. Our genetic research shows the further modern humans have migrated from Africa, the more genetic diversity has been lost within a population. However, some have used skull data to argue that modern humans originated in multiple spots around the world. We have combined our genetic data with new measurements of a large sample of skulls to show definitively that modern humans originated from a single area in Sub-saharan Africa.' The article abstract is available from Nature."

Submission + - DARPA Urban Challenge - self driving vehicles 1

Submitted by Colin Smith on Thursday July 19, 2007 @09:08AM

Colin Smith writes: The DARPA Urban Challenge L.A. to Vegas race is heating up. Qualification is due in October for the November 3rd race.

"On a quiet university campus across the water from San Francisco, an enthusiastic bunch of young computer boffins are working on what could be the car of the future."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6906162.stm

Here's a question though. If cars can drive themselves, why would I bother to own one? Why not just call one when required, like a taxi. The primary cost of a taxi ride is the driver's wage, without that a taxi ride would be cheaper than a bus or train ride. Ironically this may sound the death knell for the taxi, rail, bus and large scale car industries world wide.

Submission + - Cheap Solar Cells that can be Painted on Plastic (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by

Invisible Pink Unicorn

on Thursday July 19, 2007 @08:58AM

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes: "Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. According to the lead researcher, "Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations." The team combined carbon nanotubes with tiny carbon buckyballs (fullerenes) to form snake-like structures. Add sunlight to excite the polymers, and the buckyballs will grab the electrons. The article abstract is available through the Journal of Materials Chemistry, with an illustration of the technology."

Submission + - Why Upright Walking Evolved (msn.com)

Submitted by

InvisblePinkUnicorn

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @10:07AM

InvisblePinkUnicorn writes: "There have been various explanations for the evolution of upright walking, such as the need to get above tall grass and look across longer distances. Now a study published in the PNAS points to a simpler explanation — efficiency. According to the study, humans walking on two legs consume only a quarter of the energy that chimpanzees use while 'knuckle-walking' on all fours. The energy saved by walking upright gave our ancient ancestors an evolutionary advantage over other apes by reducing the costs of foraging for food. The abstract is available from PNAS."

Submission + - Six-Stroke Gasoline/Steam Hybrid Engine (autoweek.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @04:15AM

An anonymous reader writes: Bruce Crower has made a fascinating modification to traditional internal combustion engines: a fifth and sixth stroke. His six-stroke engine injects water into the hot cylinder to achieve a second power stroke with the expanding steam. The engine "burns" equal amounts of gasoline and water, thereby reducing fuel consumption by a whopping 40%. Could this technology the future of petroleum powered vehicles? More information is available on Wikipedia.

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